MPIRIK CARDIAC INTELLIGENCE
MPIRIK CARDIAC INTELLIGENCE
UAB RESEARCHERS USING MPIRIK CARDIAC INTELLIGENCE TO ADDRESS HEALTH INEQUITIES
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) acknowledges that social determinants of health – such as race , finances , housing , and employment – can lead to disparities in health outcomes . Organizations from the American Medical Association to the American Public Health Association joined the CDC in working to address the underlying issues that lead to health inequities .
Two scientists with the UAB Medicine Cardiovascular Institute ( CVI ) are leveraging the power of natural language processing and artificial intelligence to help address those inequities . “ There are gaps in cardiac care that sometimes occur because of a patient ’ s clinical or social status ,” says Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Disease Julian Booker , MD . “ We saw an opportunity to close those gaps and ensure that all patients receive the highest level of care in a timely fashion .”
FROM CONCEPT TO IMPLEMENTATION In September 2019 , Dr . Booker and Assistant Professor of Cardiovascular Disease and Radiology Efstathia Andrikopoulou , MD , partnered with third-party vendor Mpirik Cardiac Intelligence to develop a software algorithm that provides clinical decision support to help identify patients at risk for heart valve disease who otherwise might be overlooked . “ We focused on supporting echocardiography in Cardiovascular Imaging Services , cardiovascular surgeons , and the Structural Heart and Valve Clinic ,” Dr . Booker says .
After defining and validating the algorithm and analyzing preliminary data , the clinical decision support system went live in February 2020 . Now , the group is working on better identifying patients who have heart failure . “ It ’ s a complex disease , and we want to connect patients with our heart failure specialists and electrophysiologists in a timely manner , so that their need for defibrillators can be evaluated ,” Dr . Andrikopoulou says .
Also , the team is in the final stages of developing an algorithm that helps identify cancer patients and cancer survivors who need cardiology services . “ We want to make it easier for oncologists to easily identify these patients and refer them to a cardiologist ,” Dr . Booker says . “ This is an exciting collaboration that ’ s generated a lot of interest .”
Central to the group ’ s work is studying the socio-demographics of UAB Medicine ’ s service area . “ Characteristics of certain neighborhoods correlate with poorer outcomes in patients with valvular heart disease ,” Dr . Andrikopoulou says . After obtaining approval from the UAB Institutional Review Board ( IRB ), the team examined patients ’ ZIP codes . “ Among people living in neighborhoods where the average income is less than $ 60,000 per year , we found that more than 20 % of the residents are Black , and residents who have inadequate access to transportation are at higher risk of experiencing faster worsening of their heart valve disease ,” she adds .
Mpirik ’ s data scientists , data engineers , and data architects helped Drs . Booker and Andrikopoulou extract data based on ZIP codes . Their next step is to integrate the data with personalized patient data from UAB Medicine ’ s electronic health record ( EHR ).
“ Combining both personalized and aggregate data will pave the way to understanding and providing equitable care to our patients ,” Dr . Andrikopoulou says . “ The decision to integrate EHR data makes the possibility of using technology to support clinicians a reality .”
Recognizing that cardiovascular issues arise across the spectrum of care , Drs . Booker and Andrikopoulou anticipate future partnerships with other UAB Medicine areas , such as surgery and obstetrics . “ When we think about cardiovascular-related conditions like atherosclerotic disease , diabetes , and hyperlipidemia , we realize that we have the opportunity to optimize clinical care both in the aggregate and in individuals ,” Dr . Andrikopoulou says .
28 UAB Cardiovascular Institute Annual Report